JANESVILLE The money was flowing as happy shoppers shoved merchandise into their plastic bags.
The chatter was nonstop. Consumers flowed from one shop to another, rivaling Black Friday. There were even some axes being thrown in the corner.
Jenny Kallios fifth grade classroom at Roosevelt Elementary School in Janesville was a flurry of commercialism for an hour Wednesday morning.
Kallios 19 students conducted their fourth DOJO Market in the second-floor classroom with their desks serving as shop displays and countertops. Third and fourth grade students were their customers.
DOJO is an app that is available to schools to keep track of points students can earn by positively contributing in their classrooms.
Teachers determine the amount of DOJO dollars each student earns.
Its any positive thing, Kallio said of her reward system. If I see them helping someone without being asked, Ill give them a point. It might be when the whole class is reading silently, and I dont have to give them any reminders, everyone might get a point.
Kallio began the market project last year when she taught fourth grade and moved up along with her students this year to fifth grade. The market gives third and fourth grade students an opportunity to spend their DOJO money, which they accumulate during school.
Next school year, current fourth grade students will run the market.
I cant begin to tell you how proud I have been to sit back and watch my students take ownership of this project, Kallio said. It has far exceeded all of my wildest expectations.
One of Kallios students, Mira Short, sparked the idea. One day when Kallio was at the farmers market in downtown Janesville, she ran into Mira and her mother selling crafts at a stand.
Mira donated all the proceeds from her crafts sold at the farmers market to the Humane Society of Southern Wisconsin.
Kallio thought having a classroom farmers market would be a great way to introduce students to business models while giving other students a way to spend their DOJO money.
Kallio then met with a parent who owns her own business to learn what it took to start it and created a small business plan students needed to complete in order to start their own company.
The result has exceeded anything Kallio expected.
It has taken on a life of its own, Kallio said.
Some students become business owners, buying or creating merchandise to sell. Other students become employees.
Graham Miller was an employee last year. This year, he owned a shop along with his friends, Cooper Schenzel and Grayson Purkapile, selling candy and other goods.
Two bins are gone, he said on Wednesday, of the businesss dwindling inventory. The bubbles are gone. A lot of stuff is gone.
Reed Pratt and Charlie Tanner were behind the desk of their Friendship Finds store.
I started making bracelets when I had my first DOJO market when I moved here, said Pratt.
I started making beads when I was in first grade, Tanner said. I just started making earrings and key chains and stuff like that.
The combination of the two was a success. The two girls said sales were great.
Business was also going great at Miras DOJO Trinket Market.
Mira, having worked at the farmers market, was the experienced seller in the roomand it wasnt her first DOJO Market.
Mira, along with her business partner, Maria Mikkelson, were busy handling a steady stream of customers.
Sparkles! exclaimed one excited customer when she saw a small glass bottle on the display table. How much?
Ten dollars, Mira said.
Sold.
Mira and her mom, Andrea, made all the trinkets. A bystander said she was a pro at selling.
Yeah, I am, she said with a smile. My mom is the crafting queen.
In the corner of the room, meanwhile, was Casey Long, who wore a baseball cap while explaining his game to customers. Caseys parents, Amber and Erik Long, recently opened Papa Docs Axe Throwing on Milwaukee Street in downtown Janesville.
What do you think Casey was selling? Papa Doc Jr.s read the sign behind him. Also behind him was a board with a Velcro dartboard-like target on it. Customers threw two mini foam rubber axes that had four Velcro dots attached to their edges.
After two throws, customers spun a small wheel on the desk with a cardboard inset which was divided by a marker into two jackpot, two bankrupt and three squiggly line sections. If the spin stopped on the jackpot segment, the winner got to dig into a big plastic bag of lollipops.
Candy was a popular item for sale. Granger Garrity had a paper closed sign on his desk with a few chocolate bars available. Granger said he had more inventory to make available as he picked up the closed sign.
They sell really fast, Granger said.
Kallio is thinking of expanding next years sales to involve more classes at Roosevelt and moving the tables into the hallway. She also would like to work with businesses in Janesville to make DOJO dollars be worth something in other ways.
With 19 talented students, DOJO points add up. Combined with the profits made at Wednesdays market, many of the participating fifth grade students have large bank accounts.
Some of the kids have over $1,000 to spend, she said. This is the last year to spend it because theyll be going to middle school next year. So Im going to reach out and see if (local business) are willing to make donations on things they can bid on.
Kallio said the project has helped students develop in ways regular classroom teaching wouldnt have.
Im looking forward to seeing what next years group of fifth graders will do with this project knowing that they have seen it from the consumers point of view, Kallio said.
One thing is certain candy will be among the items available for sale.
There is one other certainty these students now have a basic understanding of how to run a business, a sweet thing to have as an 11-year-old.
